


the funny thing about time

by missfinniganmalfoy



Category: The Ultimate Sidemen
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:21:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23352358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missfinniganmalfoy/pseuds/missfinniganmalfoy
Summary: it takes an accident for simon to realise who he’s been in love with all along
Relationships: Harry Lewis/Simon Minter, Minishaw - Relationship, Wroetoshaw/Miniminter, miniminter/wroetoshaw
Comments: 6
Kudos: 61





	1. grey skies

It took him by surprise. One minute Harry was dribbling the ball and the next he was on his back, looking at the decidedly grey skies. JJ laughed as he neatly rolled the ball back and continued running with it. Harry went to stand up and let out an involuntary cry of pain. He hadn’t noticed before how his ankle was at an odd angle, and now he closed his eyes tightly, willing the pain away.

“Harry! You alright?” Then Vik was there, happy little Vik. He was leaning over Harry in concern, and Harry saw the worry etched onto his face when he opened his eyes.

“My foot.” Vik’s eyes ran down Harry and he screamed.

“What the hell?” He shrieked as he stepped away. “Don’t move, Harry. That looks really bad. Josh! Hey, Josh! Call an ambulance!” Tears leaked down Harry’s face and he moaned in pain. He hadn’t felt pain like this before, not even when he rolled off his roof onto his dads car. Then Harry was staring into into the beauty of an almost cloudless day. He pondered about what one of the clouds looked like. If he was honest, it looked a bit like Simon. 

“Guys! Stop playing for Gods sake!” Josh shouted at the offenders when he took off to check on Harry.

“Why?” Ethan was dumbfounded, and Vikk groaned.

“JJ broke Harry’s foot or something!” Vik most certainly wasn’t a doctor, but he wasn’t blind. Harry had clearly broken something. Vik stepped away from Harry as Josh arrived, and called an ambulance. JJ and Ethan shared worried looks and when they went to look at Simon they found that he wasn’t there. He was already flying across the field towards his injured friend.

“That’s the quickest I’ve seen Simon run. Wait, the only time I’ve seen Simon run.” Ethan chortled as JJ and himself followed Simon. JJ wasn’t laughing as they reached Harry. Hot tears were leaking out of his eyes, and he sounded like an injured puppy. Simon wasn’t helping.

“Dear Lord, please let Harry survive-“ He began.

“Simon! You’re scaring him! Shut up for three minutes.” Tobi cut off the blond, who nodded, relieved someone had stopped him.

“It’s alright, Harry. Help is coming. Get away from his foot! Are you blind, or just fucking stupid?” Josh shouted as JJ took a step closer to Harry’s balled up figure. JJ held his hands up in surrender.

“I’m just checking the damage! Calm your tits.” He scoffed. “I’m sorry, Hazza. I didn’t realise I’d hurt you.” He continued more quietly to Harry. Simon whirled around to look at him.

“This is your fault!” He accused JJ, who hung his head. Tobi stopped Simon.

“Hey! JJ couldn’t have known that Harry would be hurt like this! Lay off with the blaming.” He defended JJ, who shot him a grateful glance. 

“You’re joking! It’s his fault! We caught it on the video, and I’ll happily fucking replay it so you can see it too!” Simon stopped yelling abruptly and sat down. His head went into his hands and Tobi glanced up from Harry’s side. 

“It’s alright, Si. He’ll be fine.” Josh tried to reassure his best friend, but Simon couldn’t be consoled. 

“Tell him to shut up before JJ breaks his ankle as well.” Harry muttered a weak joke in between the crying and yelping, and Tobi laughed in relief. Harry wasn’t gone yet.

“Simon! Harry said to shut up! You’re making this worse by overreacting.” Tobi shouted at the other boy on the ground, who, to his credit, did shut up. Until Harry passed out from the pain, that is.

“JJ you’re fucking dead!” Simon was already diving towards his oldest friend before Ethan yanked him back and held him there.

“What the fuck, Simon? Why are you being like this?” Ethan stared at his mate, and watched the panicked look in his eyes.

“I-I don’t know.” Simon swallowed thickly, and looked down. He didn’t understand himself. It was just Harry. Good old, flakey Harry. Why was he so worked up?

“Simon! Calm down! What’re you doing? Harry’s going to be fine, I can hear the sirens.” Sure enough, ambulance sirens were sounding in the distance, growing increasingly closer till they watched the vehicle turn around the corner.

"D'you really think he'll be okay? What if he can never play again? It'll crush him." Simon whispered, safe in Ethan's arms. 

"It's okay. Nothing ever stops Harold." Ethan reassured his friend.

"No, I'm going to throw up. That's disgusting, fam!" Tobi had taken another look at Harry's foot and bolted towards the emergency vehicle.

"Helps on the way, Harry. I know you can do it." Vik murmured. Simon subtly glared at him. Why was Vikk comforting Harry anyway? Tobi was Vik’s best friend. If anyone, it should be Ethan comforting Harry. Simon realised that Ethan wasn't comforting Harry because Ethan was comforting him. Simon stepped away from Ethan, who looked confused.

“Help Harry instead. He’s your best friend.” Josh stepped in to take Ethan’s place and squeezed Simons shoulder comfortingly. Vik stepped aside to let Ethan take his place and patted JJ’s arm. JJ looked miserable, and he kept staring at Harry in regret. 

Simon didn’t regret yelling at JJ. Maybe that would teach him to be more careful. He couldn’t stand the thought of Harry doing himself a serious injury. He thought about the look on Harry’s face when he first fell, and Simon sunk to the floor. There, he buried his head in his hands, hiding his face. When the tears leaked down his face, none of the sidemen knew that Simon was experiencing a deeper pain level than any of them had felt before.

Simon couldn’t recall the car ride to the hospital, but he could remember the tightness of his throat every time the car slowed down, even remotely. What the hell were traffic lights even for? They seemed to be the only thing stopping him from getting to Harry, and Simon had never hated anything more, except possibly Jide.

“Come on.” Simon had begun hating traffic lights again until he realised that the car was outside the hospital. Tobi held out a hand and Simon gratefully grabbed it. Josh remained in the drivers seat, and the car sped off once the boys were out, intent on finding a parking spot.

“We won’t be able to see him right away.” Vik said offhandedly as they stalked through the revolving doors to the front desk. Simon recoiled. Vik was acting as though this wasn’t the most important thing in the world.

“Why?” Simon demanded, swinging round to face Vik, who stopped walking. 

“Uh, Simon, were you there? Harry will be in surgery right now, and we’re not allowed in surgery.” Vik blinked in confusion, because Simon was normally the most level headed in an accident. He then remembered when Harry had fallen off his roof, and how Simon hadn’t left his room for days after. 

“Er, right.” The tallest boy looked down, and muttered a quick apology. Vik recalled how he had felt when Lachlan’s plane had gone off radar for two hours, and when he saw Simons face he knew what the boy was thinking.

“We’re here to see Harry Lewis, he was brought in about ten minutes ago.” Tobi spoke to the receptionist, who nodded.

“Yep, he’s currently in surgery. I wasn’t told of how long it’ll take, but that’s at least an hour. The anaesthetic won’t wear off for a while if he wakes up after. He’s a pretty boy, isn’t he?” She didn’t seem to be fawning over Harry, just pointing it out. Nevertheless, Simon’s blood boiled. When Vik wrapped his hands around Simon’s waist, the older almost cried again.

“Yeah, that’s our Harry. What room was it?” Tobi felt like shaking the receptionist but he was angry with himself, not her.

“Uh, that will be,” She typed a few keys on her keyboard, “Room 186, floor five, and he’s stationed in the section with a skeleton in the waiting room. That’s where we’ll go once the surgery’s finished to notify you.” She smiled at them, but some smiles never reach the eyes. 

The three boys walked towards the elevator with Simon striding ahead. The doors almost closed before Vik managed to squeeze through, glaring at Simon.

“What? You’re too slow Vik, come on!” Simon knew he was being irrational but this was Harry. Nothing was off limits.

“Si, he won’t be awake for at least an hour.” Vik pointed out, while Tobi opted to stare at the buttons on the elevator.

“I don’t care! It’s about being there for him. You know he would be there for us, and he has been there for us.” Simon was angry. Vik wondered why Simon kept picking on him, maybe it was because Tobi was secretly everyone’s favourite. Maybe it was just because Vik knew Harry the best. Whatever it was, it didn’t feel nice.

“Hey man. Lay off. Vik is right, we won’t be able to see him for a while. It’s already 10, maybe doing night soccer wasn’t the best idea. Who’s idea was it?” Tobi unintentionally threw JJ to the wolves. Or rather, wolf.

“Fucking JJ. I’m fucking going to kill him. I am actually going to. He’s out of the sidemen, right? We can all agree on that.” Simon spat angrily, hands shaking in his jacket pocket.

“Simon. Snap out of it. No one is getting kicked out of anywhere. If you keep this shit up then Josh is taking you home.” The elevator doors open, and Tobi took a long look at Simon before following Vik out. 

Simon stared after his friends. He shut his eyes, and he thought of Harry. The clumsy idiot. Harry was asleep right now, getting fucking operated on. He slipped out of the elevator and followed his friends into the waiting room. They were the only ones there. 

“Lie down, Simon. We’ll wake you when we get news.” Tobi gestured to the benches and Simon sunk down, his head resting on the pillowed seat. He felt utterly exhausted, and the stress from the evening had seemingly taken it’s toll on him.

“Come on, Simon! Up you get!” Josh knocked on Simons bedroom door loudly. Simon groaned from the blankets, and his eyes began drooping as soon as he opened them.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s only nine! Why’re you waking me up this early?” Simon dove back into the blankets with a huff. Josh swallowed audibly.

“We decided that if you weren’t awake by nine, I had to come get you. Vik stayed at the hospital last night and I thought you wanted to see Harry.” Almost as if he was struck by lightning, Simon sat up. His memories of yesterday flooded back towards him, and he held back a sob when he got out of bed.

“Why?” Simon shut his eyes tightly, willing yesterday’s events to have been avoided.

“Why what?” Josh, to his credit, did sound confused.

“Why is Vik there and not me? Or Ethan? Hey, I fell asleep at the hospital!” Simon yanked open his bedroom door to reveal a sheepish Josh who was rubbing his neck. Simon dove back onto his bed in despair.

“Vik’s known Harry the longest, and you were so tired. You didn’t even wake up when I carried you to the car. Come on, we can get Mcdonalds for breakfast. Don’t suppose you know Harry’s order?” Josh stared at his friend, who was curled in a ball and looked so small to his usual height.

“Of course I do. I’m ready to go.” Simon stood up for the second time, still in his rumpled clothes from yesterday. Josh nodded with a sigh, and walked out. Simon glanced around the room, feeling vaguely like something was missing. When he spotted Harry’s jumper on the floor from their latest collab, he dusted it off and threw it on before following Josh.

The house was empty, and Josh locked the doors as they left. Simon’s stomach rumbled, and within five minutes Josh had turned into the nearest McDonalds drive thru. 

“Hello. Uh, two large mighty mcmuffin meals, please. What drink do you want?” He whispered to Simon, who shrugged. 

“Long black. Don’t forget double sausage muffin meal for Harry. With a chai latte.” It wasn’t Simon’s fault he knew Harry’s order. It really wasn’t.

“No worries. Drive through, thanks.” The worker dismissed them and they did exactly that. 

“Hopefully no one else got Harry mcdonalds.” Josh said as he tapped his card.

“Simon?” He tried again after they had been given their food.

“What?” Simon looked at him, and Josh shook his head. Simon was lost in his own thoughts, and Josh just didn’t know how to pull him out. Simon hadn’t seemed to care this much when Vik had broken his tailbone, but maybe Josh was imagining things.

A short ride later, and Josh pulled up outside the hospital. 

“Take the food. I’ll see you soon.” Simon jumped out of the car without a word, and Josh shook his head as he drove onwards, intent on finding a parking spot.

Simon’s long legs had many advantages, one being a couple of quick strides and he was already inside the hospital. He tried to remember what room Harry was in, but he just couldn’t. He hesitantly walked up to the receptionist, the same one from yesterday.

“Erm, hi.” He muttered as he stood there awkwardly. He was itching to see his best friend.

“I remember you. You’re awfully cute too. Either of you got girlfriends?” She asked. Simon didn’t know why he said it. He really didn’t. Maybe he was scared, maybe he wanted to give himself hope. Whatever it was, it was dumb.

“He’s my boyfriend.” The lady smiled, and Simon found himself smiling back.

“Room 186, floor five. He’s doing great, he should be able to leave today.” Simon flew away from the receptionist and the fact that she knew he was gay, and that Simon had told her he was dating Harry. 

He ran into Vik when the elevator doors opened.

“Hey, Simon! Yum, any for me?” Vik inhaled the scent of McDonalds, and Simon smiled awkwardly.

“It’s for Harry.” Vik gave him a weird look. 

“Okay, bye!” Then Vik was gone, and Simon was left standing in an empty elevator with the feeling that he had just made a mistake. He pressed floor five, shaking his head. When the doors opened, he strode out, staring intently at the door numbers. When he found 186, he stood outside, and took a deep breath.

“He’s been acting weird, boggo. I don’t know to explain it. Getting mad at everyone for no reason, going off into fairytale land, its weird as.” Ethan said, and he was clearly talking to Harry.

“Is he okay? Maybe something’s going on at home? Has anyone asked?” Simon didn’t know why he took a sharp breath when he heard Harry’s voice. He walked in.

“Harry!” Harry’s foot was propped up, and Ethan was on the couch beside him.

“Hey, stimpy!” Simon sat next to Ethan, never taking his eyes off the boy in the bed.

“You feeling okay?” Simon placed the tray of drinks next to him on the couch, and rifled through the McDonalds bag.

“I’d feel a lot better if that McDonalds was for me.” Simon winked when he got up to hand Harry his burger, and Harry blinked back.

“Tell me that wasn’t suppose to be a wink.” Simon grinned when Harry held a hand over his face.

“Don’t talk to me. Not all of us are gifted at winking.” Ethan had sat there quietly, before he stood up. 

“Simon, can I talk to you outside?” Simon, who had just unwrapped his muffin, nodded. They walked out, and Ethan shut the door behind them.

“Simon, are you alright? You’ve been a bit erm, on edge recently.” Simon chewed the muffin, and swallowed.

“I-Yeah. I’m fine. I was just really worried about Harry. It seemed different, this time. Vik didn’t pass out when he got hurt, JJ hasn’t passed out from boxing, and Harry passed out from a broken leg.” Ethan nodded, and Simon didn’t know why his heart was racing.

“It’s okay to be scared. You know you can talk to us anytime. All of us. We love you, Simon. Your problems are ours. Let’s get back to boggo, shall we?” Simon swallowed thickly, and nodded. 

He wanted to be with Harry.


	2. baby boggie

By the time the doctor had arrived to let them know Harry was good to go, all the boys were cramped in the small hospital room. JJ, Ethan, Josh and Vik were a tangled mess of limbs on the three seater couch, while Tobi sat in the armchair. Simon was laid down besides Harry, and he told himself it was because there was nowhere else to sit.

“Wow! What a turnout.” The doctor laughed as he saw them all, and they beamed back at him, happy to be alive. 

“Harry Lewis? You’re clear to go. Bed rest is recommended for at least a week, no outrageous activities. How did you break it?” JJ coughed awkwardly.

“My mate kicked me.” Everyone stared pointedly at JJ. 

“I see. Well, hopefully we don’t meet again!” The doctor left, and Simon got up first to help Harry, who swatted his hand away.

“I’m not a grandma, you bitch!” He shouted, and Simon smiled. He had missed him, despite Harry only being in the hospital for a night.

“Good to have you back.” When Simon reached for him the second time, Harry grabbed his hand and held it. They both stared at each other before Vik spoke.

“So boys, nandos?” Simon and Harry were the only ones who didn’t cheer, and Harry let Simon pull him up and off the bed. Once Harry was off, Simon hooked his arm around Harry, and Harry returned the gesture. Together, they walked to the elevators, with the doors closing before the other boys could get there.

“You feel okay?” Simon asked, squeezing his best friends shoulder. Harry nodded.

“Hurts a bit, but they told me it would. Ethan hid my crutches, I’m sure he’s got them.” Simon hid his annoyance. Was Ethan trying to put Harry in more pain?

“Fair enough. Tell me if it starts to hurt, we can go home straight away.” Simon was a bit like a mother hen. Persistent with his care, never ending with his love.

“I will. Thanks, Si.” They stared at each other and the elevator doors opened. They walked out to the reception, where they waited for the boys, who had the keys to all the cars. Simon remembered all too quickly what he had said to the receptionist, and his face burned with shame.

“You okay?” Harry poked his cheek, and Simon smiled tiredly.

“I’m fine.” Harry frowned.

“I’m going to get some water, want some?” Simon laughed.

“You’re not going anywhere, Boggie. You might have forgotten, but you just broke your leg.” Simon shook his head in amusement. Harry was an idiot.

“You can’t stop me.” Harry shot out of Simon’s grip and hobbled towards the receptionist, desperate for some water. The receptionist recognised the pair, and she grinned.

“How’s the cutest couple in the hospital doing?” Harry froze, and Simon’s eyes widened. When Simon dared to look at Harry, his face was flushed.

“Come on, boys!” Ethan shouted as he left the elevator, and Simon could have kissed him.

“Come on, Bog.” He muttered, slinging an arm under Harry’s. Harry stayed silent. 

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, you two!” Josh exclaimed when he looked back at Harry and Simon. Simon smiled weakly, but Harry’s gaze didn’t lift from the ground.

“Harry? You good?” Josh stared at Harry, who nodded.

“‘M fine.” Josh looked at Simon quizzically, who shook his head. Josh turned around to catch up with the boys, leaving the lame and the liar by themselves.

“Why did she say that?” Harry murmured softly. His head was ringing, and he convinced himself it was the medication he had been given.

“I don’t know, guess I’m so good looking she’s just jealous of you” Simon’s heart was racing, and he knew they had to change topics soon. 

“I’m sure she was a sidemen fan.” Simon continued, and Harry nodded, accepting the explanation.

“Oh, right. Sometimes I just forget.” Harry seemed different. Almost standoffish. Simon drummed his hands on Harry’s shoulder to prompt him.

“That we’re famous. I know it’s dumb, since we work a lot on videos, but we just feel normal. You make me feel normal. Like, all the guys do.” Harry rushed to add his last sentence, and Simon nodded slowly. Simon didn’t make him feel normal, everyone else did.

“Earth to Simon and Harry. You’re in my car. It’s just here.” Tobi had conveniently parked his car almost adjacent to the hospital, and Simon could tell Harry was relieved. 

“Ethan! Where’s his crutches?” Simon shouted out to Ethan as he noticed Harry’s face was contorted with pain.

“Shit! I’ll go grab them!” Ethan jogged past them and Harry sighed. He was clearly tired.

“Harry, we don’t have to go out tonight. Tobi can take you straight home.” Simon muttered in Harry’s ear. Harry’s face grew crimson, and Simon wondered why. 

“It’s fine. I’m fine.” Simon helped him to the car, and once Harry was comfortable in the backseat he closed the door. Ethan came running back out.

“Uh, Simon? Why did the receptionist ask about her favourite couple in the hospital?” Ethan asked him as he handed over the crutches.

“Dunno, she said something like that to us. Harry seemed a bit put off by it.” Simon said, opening his car door and smiling at Harry, who gave a small one back.

“Okay. See you guys at Nandos!” Ethan walked away, and Tobi came back from God knows where.

“You good, Harry?” Was his first question once he got into the drivers seat. Harry nodded.

“Yeah, thanks.” He didn’t seem to be in the mood for talking, and no one was in the mood for bothering Harry. No one ever was, not with how finely he walked the line of addiction. 

The car trip to nandos consisted of Tobi and Simon talking about COVID19, and whether or not it was serious. When Simon had last checked online, about 1500 people in the UK had it.

“It’s like, 4.5% fatality rate. It’s mostly just a risk to older people, I don’t reckon it’ll end up being a big deal.” Simon explained, while Tobi shook his head without taking his eyes off the road.

“Nah, fam. Apparently France is already in lockdown. Schools are closed as well.” Simon raised his eyebrows at that, and turned to look at Harry. Harry was looking out the window, the bags under his eyes more present than ever. Simon shook his head marginally. Why did everything lead him to Harry?

“Uh, maybe, I guess. Depends on the government.” It always led back to Harry.

“Definitely.” Tobi pulled over right in front of Nandos. Every sideman loved riding with Tobi, because he always found the best parking spots. Always in front of where they needed to be, always. Simon jumped out quickly to open Harry’s door, who stared at him.

“You’re a nonce.” Harry sighed as he grabbed his crutches and started to get out of the car. 

“What are you doing?” Simon stared at him before scooping him up from the car. Tobi laughed as he snatched up Harry’s crutches and shut the door, locking the car.

“Ethan will be jealous of you, I’ll say.” Tobi winked at Harry, who was gazing up at Simon. The trio walked into nandos and found a nice, secluded table. Simon hooked his foot around a chair and pulled it out, before gently placing Harry down.

“You’re a baby, boggo. Baby bog.” Simon grinned down at Harry, who blinked. Tobi laughed.

“Baby bog. That’s a new name, nice Simon.” Tobi high-fived the lanky one, who smiled. Simon sat down next to Harry, and they picked up three of the four menus on the table. 

“I’m famished, I can’t lie.” Harry stared at the menu, not reading a single word.

“How much would Ethan hate us if we ordered now?” Simon asked, grinning at the two boys.

“Quite a lot, dickhead.” Ethan pulled out the chair beside Simon, who swatted away Ethan’s attempt to slap his face.

“Then hurry up and decide what you want!” The other boys took their seats, and it was within seconds they realised that their orders would likely never change.

“Who’s ordering?” Harry asked. Simon saw the corners of his mouth lift up slightly. Only Harry would use a broken leg to his advantage.

“Shot not.”

“Shot not.”

“Shot not.”

“Shot not.”

“Shot not.”

“Fuck.” Vik sighed. He reluctantly stood up, and Jide stuck the finger up at him.

“Just for that you’re coming with me.” Vik attempted to tug on Jide’s chair, but it didn’t budge. Harry was the only sideman who didn’t laugh.

“Nah fam, allow it.” Jide groaned, but no one could resist Vik’s giggles. He stood up reluctantly, and off the pair went, the other boys orders having been saved in their phones a thousand times.

“Are we going to upload the footage we got of the night soccer?” Josh was straight to business, as always. Simon didn’t miss Harry rub his neck briefly.

“I think we could. If Harry’s good with it, that is.” Tobi quickly glanced at Harry, who was staring at something beyond the booth.

“Harry?” Simon nudged his leg, the leg that Jide hadn’t gone and fucking broken, and Harry looked up.

“Mm?” Harry was tired. The most tired he had ever been, probably. He just wanted to sleep. 

“Do you mind if the night soccer is uploaded?” Baby bog. Simon shook his head marginally, wondering what the hell he was thinking.

“Sure. Did anyone film the hospital?” Everyone looked at Josh, because Josh was practical, and if anyone had done it, it was him. He nodded.

“Yeah, sorry Harry. I don’t mean to be about the views all the time-“ Harry held a hand up.

“It’s fine. Imagine the views.” Imagine them indeed.

Vik and Jide returned, with the latter looking far too smug for his own good.

“What have you done, mate?” Ethan shifted away from Jide as the boys sat down, and Jide laughed maniacally. 

“He told the waitress we wanted to hire her as a stripper and she agreed.” Vik sighed, and Ethan clapped his hands.

“Just what we need, right bog?” The lack of reply said enough. Harry’s mind had gone wandering again, and only one person could ever bring him back.

“He’s just tired.” Simon said. There wasn’t any point in him disrupting Harry, and everyone nodded.

“So, about this stripper.” Ethan winked at Jide, who winked back. Josh shook his head, and Tobi sighed in wonder. Life was great sometimes, it really was.

The food still hadn’t arrived when Harry leaned his head on Simon’s shoulder. His blue eyes were wide, and damn it, Simon had to stop thinking about him.

“I wanna go.” Harry whispered softly, and Simon’s heart thudded loudly.

“Okay, I’ll go ask them to put our meals in containers?” Simon looked at Harry for reassurance, but he was pouting and crossed his arms.

“Fine.” Simon laughed at his friend’s antics, and stood up. The other boys looked at him questionably.

“I’m gonna take Harry home. I’m just telling them to put our food in containers.” All eyes fell to Harry, who was already daydreaming again. 

“I’ll call the uber.” Tobi said as Simon stood up.

Simon quickly found the waitress Jide had spoken to, and she was more than happy to accommodate the request.

“Miniminter? I’m really excited for tonight, maybe we can head off early?” Right. Miniminter. The youtuber, not the person.

“I won’t be there tonight. The food being put in containers is my friend and I’s.” Her pretty brown eyes narrowed, and all Simon could think about was the ocean, and the eyes that matched it.

“KSI said that I was there for you, specifically.” Simon might actually kill Jide, and that’s if he doesn’t drop dead of embarrassment first.

“Right, well, he lied.” Simon went to turn away, when a hand grabbed his arm.

“Why won’t you be there, again?” Simon was starting to get fed up. He wanted to leave.

“Wroetoshaw and I are going home.” Maybe if he spoke her language she would understand. Her eyes lit up.

“So you’re both gay? Is that it?” Simon didn’t expect that.

“What? No! No, he’s tired-“ She waved a hand, dismissing him.

“I get it. Don’t worry.” She left him standing there with a mouth wide open. When he returned to the guys, it was silent.

“What happened?” Simon sat down in his chair, and they all stared at him.

“When were you going to tell us you were gay?”


	3. even when the night changes

“Excuse me?” Simon desperately looked around at his friends faces, and not one indicated they were joking.

“According to the waitress, you and Harry are dating.” Ethan’s tone sounded accusing, and Simon looked at Harry. Harry, of course, had his head on the table and appeared to be asleep.

“A player’s gotta play, you know?” Simon laughed, but none of his friends did.

There was a pause.

“You should have seen the look on your face.” Ethan roared as he whacked the table amist the laughter. Vik giggled, and Josh smiled.

“She did tweet it, to be fair. But hey, aren’t we all minishaw fans?” Ethan waved his phone about and Jide nodded, shooting Simon a sly grin. What was he playing at? 

“You’re all dickheads.” Simon sighed as he sat down, and Harry’s head rose.

“What’s wrong with being called gay?” Harry, the only sidemen that asked questions no one else dared to.

“Well, nothing. But I’m not gay, so I don’t want to be called it.” Simon remembered the receptionist, despite not wanting to. Why didn’t he want the boys to call him gay?

“All you had to do was say that you’re not. How are we meant to know you’re not gay? How is anyone meant to know unless you say it outright? No need to be a dick about it.” Rant over, Harry put his head back on the table. 

There was another pause.

“Are you okay, Harry?” Tobi asked from across the table, and Harry grunted.

“No one ever calls people out for being homophobic. Not sorry about it.” He muttered, and Ethan narrowed his eyes.

“Why didn’t you ever get mad at me?” Ethan asked. God almighty, the air was thick and Simon didn’t know what he had done.

“You were nice about it.” Most of the time, anyway, Harry inwardly added. When really, Harry hadn’t cared before. Harry hadn’t cared because back then, the word gay had meant nothing. 

The sidemen accepted the answer, and they also accepted that it wasn’t funny, that it might have never been funny. Maybe the funny part had been Ethan’s reactions every time.

A different waitress brought their food over, with a waiter following her. The two styrofoam boxes caught Simon’s eye instantly, and he tugged on Harry’s shoulder.

“Ready?” Harry grunted in return but lifted his head up. His eyes were bloodshot, indicating a lack of sleep.

“Come on.” Simon stood up and waved to the boys. A chorus of farewells sounded, and with their arms around each other, the two boys left the restaurant. 

“Tobi said the uber was a blue toyota with the number plate- oh! It’s this one!” Simon found the car straight away, and together they hobbled over.

“Uber for Single Simon?” The man in the front asked, and Simon was just about ready to march back into the restaurant and tackle his friends. A tap on his wrist made him look at Harry, and he swallowed.

“That would be me.” Simon told the driver Harry’s address, and it wasn’t until he sat back did he wonder how he remembered it. Harry was sat in the middle, and his head was already on Simon’s shoulder, the food safely on his lap. When Simon closed his eyes, he wondered how he had ever slept peacefully before this. 

The car slowed to a stop, and Simon jolted awake. The driver looked at him, and Simon handed him a tip. Then he woke up Harry.

“Sorry, I’ll just grab him.” He whispered to the driver, who smiled. The only solution was to carry Harry, but if the food was dropped Simon would never forgive himself. He decided to phone a friend.

“What’s all this then?” Freezy opened the gate and laughed when he saw Harry.

“Can you grab the food, here.” Simon handed him the containers, and Cal sniffed them.

“Lux isn’t home. You carrying him?” Simon’s response was to yeet Harry over his shoulder, and he shut the car door. The toyota sped off into the night, and that was the end of that.

Simon stepped inside the house that he had been in so few times, and the difference the night sky made was overwhelming. Shadows cast across the living room as he walked up the stairs, Cal in front of him.

“You know where his room is?” Cal asked, and Simon was almost ashamed to admit that he did, but only through watching his friends videos. Not once had he ventured inside.

“Yeah.” They both stayed quiet after that, and Simon nodded to Cal before continuing up the stairs. Cal followed, though he stopped after reaching the second floor. Simon continued, and when he reached Harry’s door, he paused. God, Harry was getting heavy, wasn’t he? Simon readjusted his grip, and the smell of Harry’s shampoo filled his nostrils.

Simon nudged open the door with his shoulder, and Harry’s 10 million subscriber plaque caught his eye. How lucky was Simon, how lucky were all of them to know Harry? 

Harry’s bed wasn’t made, and Simon was hit by a wave of exhaustion. He didn’t know what the time was, but he did know that Harry’s bed looked like heaven. Maybe it wasn’t the bed, but the person.

Simon placed Harry down gently, and pulled the covers over his body. The injured foot stuck out of the covers, and Simon tugged them to cover it. Harry already had bed hair, with strands poking up out of nowhere. Simon found himself smiling. When Simon turned to leave, a soft hand nudged his. 

“Stay.” Harry whispered, and Simon realised exactly why he had butterflies in his stomach. Really, Simon was stupid enough to take 3 chapters to realise this. 

“I-I can’t.” Simon swallowed thickly, and looked down at Harry, who was staring at him.

“Why?” Harry didn’t know what possessed him to ask Simon, let alone to continue to push him. When he stared up at Simon, a familiar look was on his mates face.

“I have to go.” Simon insisted, and a look of hurt flashed across Harry’s face. It was gone as quickly as it came, and Simon was left feeling empty.

“Thanks for dropping me home.” The conversation ended when Harry turned to face his desk, and he appeared to go to sleep.

Simon stayed, but he wasn’t sure how long for. Staring at Harry, watching his body rise and fall as he lay there. This wasn’t right. 

Harry stayed as still as possible for as long as he could, but he couldn’t hear the sound of Simon walking away. Finally, finally he heard his retreating figure, and Harry shut his eyes, willing the night to be over. 

The night had been over a long time ago.


	4. shooting star

Simon gently closed Harry’s bedroom door, and sighed when he heard the resounding click. It was probably time to start distancing himself from Harry. Maybe that would save him pain. He ran into Cal on the landing, who stared at him.

“What are you doing?” Cal asked, and Simon blinked. Had he just forgotten their conversation?

“Going home? Harry’s in bed.” Cal continued to stare at him.

“You can stay over, you know. You always welcome here, you know that right?” Cal was probably one of the best people ever.

“I know. Thanks, Cal. I’ll see you tomorrow for filming?” Simon began his descent down the stairs, and Cal smiled.

“I’ve been practising my personality.” Simon laughed. The video was going to be the sidemen and friends doing online quizzes to find out who they’re compatible with. It was going to be a blast. 

“I think you should’ve been practising being the opposite to Jide instead.” Cal roared with laughter and the boys waved goodbye. Simon shut the door of the house and sighed. It was strangely quiet. He reached into his pocket to pull out his phone, and saw a missed call from Tobi. 

“Hello?” Simon heard laughter in the background, and he smiled.

“Hey Tobi. I’m at Harry’s. Any chance of a lift home?” Ethan started screaming at something, and Tobi sighed.

“Only if you’ll punch Ethan for me. We’ll be there soon.” Tobi hung up and Simon wondered what Ethan had done. 

He sat outside the gate of the boys house and took a deep breath. Today certainly had been eventful. No doubt tomorrow would be too, as they had to film a massive video. It was Jj’s video week, wasn’t it? Simon hoped this wasn’t a dumb scheme his oldest friend had concocted. God knew he had had enough of those in his lifetime.

The sky was strangely beautiful, and it felt almost magical. A rare moment when the stars could be seen from the polluted Greenwich, and they were shining brightly. It could have been his poor eyesight, but Simon could swear he saw one of the stars moving. Shooting stars were something else.

“I wish Harry and I were dating.” Simon whispered to the sky, and the sky whispered back as the star disappeared. 

It was getting colder these days, as the final days of spring disappeared with the vague warmth that England pretended it had. Simon put his hands back in his pocket in an attempt to warm them up, though he knew it wasn’t going to happen. Simon remembered the beginning of spring, and how Harry’s hay fever kept getting worse. He remembered Vik’s panicked tears, and how Harry had called them all saps, despite Harry having to move home for several weeks until he felt better again. Simon didn’t miss spring.

A sleek black car pulled up, and the passenger window rolled down to reveal Vik. 

“Get in!” Simon smiled at him and opened up the passenger door. Josh nodded at him and Simon pulled on the seatbelt before closing the door.

“Jj and Ethan have strippers at your flat, Simon. You can stay with Manny and I if you want.” Tobi offered generously as they left the Cals and Harry behind, and Simon wondered why he got a flat with Jj. 

“Sure, thanks.” The car ride was quiet, but comfortable. They made it to Josh’s place first.

“Bye guys! Make sure you’re at Upper Norwood by 10. Vik can you let Harry know? Fans are attacking us whenever Harry misses the start of the videos, and filming will get delayed if he’s late.” Simon stewed silently as Josh shut the door. Why did Josh ask Vik? That had to be a joke, right? Simon was literally next to Josh, how could he be overlooked like that. Vik and Tobi chatted until they were outside Vik’s apartment block, and Simon forced a smile to his friend. 

“Get in the front, Simon. I’m not your uber.” Tobi laughed as Simon hopped out of the car and into the front, and Simon sighed.

“You okay?” Tobi asked as they sped away from the treacherous Vik.

“I’m good, yeah. Just really tired.” Tobi nodded in response, and shortly they pulled into the underground parking that was saved for residents only.

“Manny’s probably filming. Wait, what’s the time?” Tobi locked the car and they walked towards the lift.

“Almost eleven. Yeah, probably is filming. Hey, did you want to film a video?” Simon opened the notes app on his phone and scrolled through till he found the one labelled Video Ideas.

“If we do, I’m not filming for more than fifteen minutes. Josh is a dick for changing the time from eleven to ten.” Tobi stared at the reflection of Simon. Had he always been like this? Despite his height, Simon seemed small and almost sad.

“Yeah, greedy bugger. Don’t worry, we can film another day. I’ve already got a couple videos ready to upload tomorrow anyway.” The lift doors opened and the boys stepped out, with Tobi charging towards his flat with the key in his hand.

“Oh, Manny!” Tobi sung as he locked the door behind Simon. There was a grunt from the other room, and Simon laughed at the brothers. That described his relationship with his brothers too. 

“Simon’s here!” There was a pause, and then Manny emerged from his room.

“Hey, mate!” He grinned at Simon, who grinned back. Manny was great fun to be around. 

“Hey! All good if I stay the night?” Didn’t hurt to make sure Manny was fine with it.

“Yeah, totally. ‘Ight, better get back to filming. See you!” Then he was gone, and Simon flopped onto the lounge. 

“Are you all good, Simon?” Tobi filled up a glass of tap water, and Simon laughed, thinking he was joking.

“Your lounge is comfy, Tobes. Mind if I steal it?” Tobi laughed weakly, but he sat on the armchair opposite Simon.

“Are you really okay? You’ve seemed different lately, I don’t know what it is.” Simon stared at him. Why was Tobi such a good friend, and why couldn’t Simon lie to him?

“I’ll be okay, Tobi. Thank you.” Tobi nodded and picked up the blanket beside him.

“Here, you’ll need it.” It hit Simon in the face, and it was just what the man needed.

“Thanks, Tobi. Love you.” Tobi walked towards his room.

“You too.”


	5. the big bang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> my twitter is tessiewrites hehe

Simon’s dream abruptly ended when he felt a shift beside him. Had Tobi’s lounge always been as comfortable as this? His eyes opened slowly, and widened instantly as he realised he was in his own room. Had Jide been sober enough to pick him up from Tobi’s? Simon gasped as he realised that he wasn’t alone in his bed, and there was a very real person cuddled into his side. God, was this one of Jj’s strippers? Since when had he hired guys? Simon looked closer at the head on his chest, and he would recognise the freckles of Harry Lewis anywhere. 

What the fuck had happened last night?

Harry began waking up, and yawned before opening his eyes. When he clocked Simon, he screamed and pulled away.

“What the fuck? Is this a fucking joke? Where the fuck am I?” Harry squealed, and it was as Harry yanked the blanket that both boys realised they were naked.

“Oh my fucking God!” Simon tried to pull the blanket back from Harry, who lost his grip and went flying off the bed, his todger flying with him. 

“What the fuck, Harry?” Simon shrieked and threw the blanket over his head, as Harry continued screaming.

“Shut the fuck up!” Jj opened Simon’s door to see Harry butt-ass naked on the floor and Simon screaming on the bed.

“White people, man. If I had known you two dating would be like this I would have moved out.” He shut the door as quickly as he opened it, and Simon stopped screaming. 

“What the fuck just happened? Did he just say dating?” It was hard to listen to Harry when he wasn’t wearing any clothes, and Simon stood up to retrieve clothes for the both of them.

“Simon! I don’t want to see your fucking dick!” Harry yelled as he covered his eyes.

“You can’t fucking talk! I’m permanently scarred from you flashing in my face!” Simon threw a pair of boxers towards Harry, who was scowling. 

“This is all you’re gonna give me?” Harry whined as he put them on, and Simon threw a shirt over his shoulder. A pair of shorts followed.

“Stop looking at my ass and let me get changed!” Simon shouted as he got into his clothes, and Harry blindly stuck the finger up in his direction.

Moments later, everyone was fully clothed, and the room was silent.

“Okay. What the fuck was that? Jj said dating, didn’t he?” Simon spun around to see Harry already facing him.

“I have no clue how I got here. Did you take me back to yours?” Harry’s eyes wandered around Simon’s room, and settled on the frame beside his bed. It was a photo of the pair of them kissing.

“Simon!” Simon followed his gaze and he picked up the frame. 

“Jesus. This has to be a prank, right?” Simon looked at the photo, and it hurt.

“What else can it be? So they must have taken me to yours? Weren’t you here to wake up, though?” Harry had begun pacing, and he looked scared.

“No, I slept at Tobi’s last night. Wait, what’s the time? We have filming at 10!” They stared at each other before slowly turning to their clothes. Their rumpled clothes on the floor.

“We didn’t have sex, did we?” Simon whispered as he stared at his clothes. What was this?

“Now that you mention it, my ass hurts. I think I saw scratch marks on you, too.” At the mention of it, Simon noticed a dull throb in his back, and he shook his head. He walked over to the pile of clothes, and retrieved both boys phones. After tossing Harry’s to him, he looked at his own phone.

“It’s another photo.” Harry walked over to see, and he held up his own phone. A third photo of the boys kissing. 

“How did they photoshop these and get into our phones?” Harry whispered, and Simon had no response. 

“Face ID?” Simon said, but he had no clue. However, he did know that Olajide Olatunji was a dead man.

“It’s 9:30! Why didn’t Jj wake us?” Simon had never seen Harry like this, frantic and scared, and it scared him.

“We’ll go talk to him. Come on.” Simon’s quick strides had him out his door in seconds, and he patiently waited for Harry to catch up. Not everyone was slender man, after all. 

“I don’t know how you guys are awake right now, considering you were up all night. Swear, I almost came in to tell you both to fuck off.” Jj was in the kitchen, and was struggling to cook an omelette.

“We have filming at ten, Jj. Why didn’t you wake us?” Simon walked behind him to grab some juice, and Harry sat on the barstools. 

“The fuck? No we don’t. It’s a Tuesday, dumbass.” Harry and Simon’s heads snapped towards each other. If it was a Tuesday, then they had skipped forward in time. That was impossible.

“What’s the date?” Simon filled up two glasses with orange juice and handed one to Harry.

“Check your phone, how am I meant to know?” Jj’s omelette was looking worse and worse, and Simon shook his head. Harry pulled out his phone first, and his wide eyed expression told Simon that they weren’t where they were meant to be.

“Harry! Your leg!” It had taken a while, but Simon finally noticed Harry’s leg. No longer in a cast. Harry gasped.

“Can you two fuck off? You’re upsetting my breakfast.” Jj was right, the omelette was looking sadder and sadder as the seconds passed. 

“I’m gonna go home.” Harry declared, and he held his phone tightly as he walked to the entrance of the shared flat.

“Okay, good idea.” Simon followed him, and once they were outside the flat Harry stopped.

“Why are you following me?” He asked, and Simon almost laughed.

“Harry, you’re the only sane person here. I’m not letting you leave me.” Harry nodded. 

“Okay, fair enough. Maybe my place will have more shit in it. I don’t know how that will help us though.” Harry sighed as the elevator opened on the garage. 

“I don’t either. And Jj was right, wasn’t he? We have moved forward a couple days?” Simon pulled out his keys to unlock his car, and hopped in. Harry followed.

“Yeah. We’ve missed about a month. This can’t be a prank.” Harry sighed and looked out the window, and Simon reversed the car out of the parking spot, and soon they were on the road.

“Check twitter!” Simon paused. “And youtube and instagram.” 

Harry pulled out his phone and paused briefly when he opened it, but Simon caught the way his eyes lingered on his lock-screen. Was Harry that disgusted?

“Okay, nothings on instagram.” Harry seemed relieved, and Simon shook his head before realising Harry wasn’t looking at him.

“Check mine. You only post ads.” Simon wasn’t wrong, and when Harry typed in Simon’s username he paused. 

“There’s been one post.” The silence lingered in the air, and Simon wanted to hit Harry.

“Hurry up!” Simon urged him as the car slowed at a set of traffic lights. 

“It’s a photo of your family.” Simon didn’t move. He struggled to breathe in and out.

“Caption?” He whispered, and Harry opened the photo. The traffic lights turned green.

“Love is love.” Then Simon could breathe again, and the air tasted sweet. 

“Thank God.” Simon murmured. He couldn’t imagine if something had happened to his family in the lapse of time they had fallen into.

“I’ll check twitter.” Harry said, and he opened up the app faithfully. He clicked on his profile first. 

“There’s a shit ton of fifa posts. Hang on-“ He stopped. When Simon glanced at him, he was staring at his phone. 

“I posted a yellow heart.” Miniminter was yellow, but so was Tobjizzle.

“Check mine.” Simon kept his eyes on the road, but his fingers were trembling.

“You posted a blue one.” Simon almost laughed. They were idiots, could they be any more obvious?

“Way to make it obvious.” Simon said, and Harry sighed.

“Did we really think we were being subtle?” When Simon thought about it, the answer was probably not.

“I don’t think so. Surely this was our way of..” Simon let his voice trail off, the implications of what he meant silent in the air. 

“I don’t know what we’re meant to do. Delete the posts?” Harry kept scrolling through twitter, and Simon considered it.

“That’s probably the worst thing we can do. What if we said we posted it to prank everyone for a video?” Simon suggested, and Harry paused his scrolling.

“It could work, except we would have to film the before part, which would be annoying.” Harry said, and then he seemed to change his mind.

“No, we can’t post that, or delete it. We havent even thought about finding a way back. I don’t know what has happened, and what if saying it’s fake is ruining the future from our time or something? It’s so much worse because millions of people are watching us.” Rant over, Harry sat back and looked out the window. Simon wondered what had really happened to them. Were they in the future? An alternate universe? It didn’t seem possible, yet here they were. 

“Do you think we’re in the future?” Simon asked quietly. There was no response, and Simon pulled into Harry’s street. There still hadn’t been a response by the time they were inside the house, and Simon had accepted that there wasn’t going to be one.

Freezy and Lux bounced down the stairs together, arguing about something Simon and Harry had missed.

“There you are, boggo!” Lux exclaimed as he tackled Harry into a hug. Freezy and Simon exchanged looks. 

“Hey, Cals.” They withdrew from the hug and the four of them stood there.

“Lux has been trying to tell me that the two of you are dating. He’s chatting.” Freezy walked into the kitchen, and the rest of them followed.

“They are, dimwit!” Lux sat on a kitchen stool, and Simon and Harry stood awkwardly.

“They’re not. Last night when Simon dropped Harry off he didn’t say anything. Of course they’re not, but everyone knows they have the hots for each other.” Freezy poured a glass of orange juice, and Lux shook his head.

Time stood still for Minishaw, and they slowly looked at each other before looking at Freezy. Freezy was stuck in the same place they were, and it seemed he had come from yesterday too.

“Freezy. Upstairs. Now.” Harry grabbed Simon’s hand and tugged him up the stairs, and Simon squeezed his hand in response. 

When the three of them stood in Harry’s room with the door locked, much to Lux’s outrage, they started talking.

“What’s all this about then?” God, Freezy could be annoying when he wanted to be.

“Apparently we’ve been dating for a month. Maybe more, maybe less. I woke up in his bed this morning,” Harry gestured to Simon, “But I fell asleep here.” 

“If you check your phone, you’ll see a shit-ton of tweets that you apparently posted in the past month. Same goes for youtube, instagram, and even twitch.” Simon finished, and Cal laughed.

“Yeah right, dipshits.” Simon and Harry stared at Cal, who stared back.

“Give me your phones.” Cal finally said, and Harry held up his phone to show Cal the lockscreen. 

“Shit, you really kissed?” Cal looked at them, begrudging respect in his eyes. Simon and Harry exchanged a look.

“You think a kiss is impressive? You should see what he’s done to my back.” Simon didn’t think it was adorable the way Harry’s face flushed, the tip of his ears matching his coloured cheeks.

“Get some! But seriously, I know this is a prank.” Cal was determined to be right against his other half, Lux.

“Didn’t you check twitter this morning? Or youtube? Or literally anything? Jesus, Cal, a whole month has passed!” Harry burst out, and Cal frowned.

“No, I couldn’t find it. I could have sworn I charged it beside my bed, but it’s not there.” Cal scratched the back of his neck, and there was silence.

“Here.” Harry handed Cal his unlocked phone, and Cal almost dropped it.

“It’s November?” Cal looked up from the phone to stare at them. They nodded gravely.

“Jesus.” Cal opened several apps in silence, and each app confirmed the worst.

“What do we do? How do we get back? And most importantly, where is my phone?” Cal checked his pockets in vain, his fingers hitting only the keys in his pocket.

“We don’t know. There might not even be a way back. If there is, it might not work for you.” Simon wanted to break the news gently, but how could you tell someone they might be stuck in an alternate universe for the rest of their lives?

“Wh-What?” Cal stared at Simon, who stared helplessly back.

“I’m going to be honest, Cal, I don’t think you were meant to be here. Be transported here I mean.” He replied. Cal’s eyes were like Harry’s, but at the same time, they weren’t. Who knew blue had so many shades, so many personalities?

“Wait, how did we get here? Was it one of you?” Cal watched as Harry shook his head. A moment later, Simon followed. Cal stared at Simon, silent questions written all over his face.

Questions that Simon didn’t have the answers to.


	6. don’t go breaking my heart

Simon hadn’t considered how loud the sidemen were until he was jammed in the middle of them during carpool karaoke. 

It’ll be fun, they said. 

Jj and Ethan were fucking liars.

“Thank you, next!” Harry screeched, and everyone winced. Simon wondered what Harry was thinking about, who Harry was thinking about as he sung those lyrics. 

It was funny, the way things worked out sometimes. Simon watched Ethan draw a dick from the condensation on the window, and turned to face his own window. 

“All through the night I’ll make love to you.” The other boys chorussed, and Simon snorted with laughter, his train of thought interrupted. Okay, maybe it was fun. 

“Simon, you pick a song.” Josh said as he passed Simon the phone. The spotify playlist looked weak, and as Simon caught Harry’s eyes, he knew exactly what song he was going to play.

“If I was your boyfriend I’d never let you go! I could take you places you ain’t never been before!” Tobi screamed with laughter amidst the groans, and Simon winked at Harry.

Harry almost fainted.

“I can be a gentleman, anything you want. If I was your boyfriend, I’d never let you go.” 

“Oh my God, Simon. Stop singing about me. I told you we are over.” Ethan cackled, and Jide groaned again.

“Change it!” He shouted, and Harry snatched the phone out of Simon’s hands.

“My turn!” His small hands navigated spotify quickly, a song already on his mind. Elton John began singing.

“Don’t go breaking my heart.” Vik clapped excitedly, and as Kiki Dee sung, there was silence.

“Who’s who?” Jide shouted, and somehow the eyes turned to Harry and Simon, sitting together in the very back of the car.

“Don’t go breaking my heart.” Harry sung tentatively.

“I won’t go breaking your heart.” Simon promised in the form of a song, and they stared at each other.

“Dont go breaking my heart.” They sung together, and the sidemen applauded.

“Ooh, ooh, nobody knows it.” They continued, and life was good.

“When I was down,” Harry’s voice was oddly calming, and Simon didn’t need to think about the next words. They flew out of his mouth.

“I was your clown.” Simon was Harry’s clown. No one else could make him laugh, or feel as much as Simon did.

“Right from the start,” 

“I gave you my heart.” Maybe it was true. Maybe right in the beginning, right from the first interaction, Simon’s heart was given to Harry. 

“You guys are so cute.” Ethan fawned over them, and Simon remembered where they were. Who they were.

“Thanks, Ethan.” They chorussed, and heat rose on both of their faces. Harry and Simon were pointedly not looking at one another, but no one said anything. What would they have said? 

“What should the last song be?” Vik asked, and there was silence. 

“You’re insecure, don’t know what for,” One direction autoplayed next, and everyone accepted it. 

“You’re insecure, you’re insecure.” Ethan shouted over the lyrics, the tik tok remix fresh in his mind. 

The sidemen finished singing, or shouting, the rest of the lyrics, and the car was silent.

“That was fun! Hopefully we get views for it.” Josh said, ever the money maker. 

“Shit, I forgot we were even filming.” Harry said, and Simon wondered if Harry regretted picking that song. 

“That’s what makes it so good. It doesn’t even feel like work.” Not that Vik needed to work. He had millions under his belt, and now that Simon thought about it, Harry probably did too. 

“Banger of an idea, Tobi.” Simon gave credit where credit was due. Now all they had to do was edit.

“G!” Tobi looked at Simon in the review mirror, and something had changed. Without taking his eyes off the road, he noticed a considerable gap between Simon and Harry. A gap that shouldn’t have been there. Maybe it wouldn’t be noticed, but all it took was one fan. 

“Okay, so we have three videos pre-recorded. Four, including this one. Once we’re in lockdown tomorrow we’re going to have to put gaming videos on the main channel or something.” Josh said, and Simon and Harry finally looked at one another. Lockdown?

“What are the rules for lockdown again?” Harry asked, and since it was such a Harry thing to forget, it was accepted.

“No leaving your house whatsoever unless it’s completely essential. Wait, what are you guys doing? Who’s place are you staying at?” Vik looked at Simon and Harry, resulting in everyone aside Tobi turning around to stare.

“He’s staying with me.” Harry decided in the split second they had, and Simon was surprised to realise he was completely fine with that.

“Fam.” Jj stared at Simon, who shrugged. Jj looked hurt, but what could Simon do? 

“Your girlfriend can stay with you, J.” For the life of him, Simon could not remember Jj’s girlfriends name. It turned out he didn’t need to.

“Are you joking? You’re such a dick, mate. You think I would want that cheating bitch at our place again?” Harry stifled a laugh, and Simon wanted to smash his head against the tinted glass windows of the car.

“I’m so sorry, I forgot. Did you want to invite anyone else to stay? Maybe Lux could stay with you while he gets ready to move?” Jide considered this, and he nodded.

“If he wants to, then he can. I don’t want to be alone, to be honest.” The car went silent. All the boys were staying with their siblings, friends and partners. What could they say? 

They eventually pulled up to Harry and Cal’s house, and there were several groans.

“I don’t know why I have to get out when he made the decision to sit in the back.” Ethan grumbled as he got out of the car, pulling his seat forward in the process. 

“Cheers, behz.” Simon hopped out, and Harry followed. Another silence.

“I’ll see you guys when quarantine is over, I guess.” Simon stared into the car, with the ajar door helping him see the faces of his family. 

“Bye guys!” They chorussed back, and when Harry took Simon’s hand, he squeezed it. The boys walked inside the gates, and when they turned around the car was gone. 

“I guess there’s no turning back now.” Harry said as he opened the door, and all Simon knew was that he would never turn back, never ever, as long as he could make Harry smile at him like that.

Freezy was on his way out, his hand on the door handle when it opened.

“Fuck!” He shrieked as it opened, and that was about as Freezy as it could get.

“Hey, Cal. Simon’s staying here over quarantine. Reckon we can trade him for Lux?” Harry chose to ignore Cal’s reaction, but Simon was struggling not to piss himself.

“Fuck off Simon, not with that attitude!” But Cal was smiling. If he couldn’t have his counterpart, Lux, then Simon was the next best thing.

“Fine. Different beds for you two, though! I’m always watchin’.” There was a surprised silence. For some reason, neither boy had thought about sleeping arrangements.

“Only joking, only joking! Now, I’m about to do a food shop, you two had better come. How weird is this whole thing, huh? We move a month into the future and suddenly the country’s in lockdown! Lucky I’ve had a month’s worth of quality content, I’m loaded!” Cal opted to get into Harry’s car, faithfully in the backseat.

Cal was so normal. How could anyone be this normal after forgetting an entire month of their life?

“Yeah? Your shout then.” Harry followed Cal, and surprisingly sat in the front passenger seat.

“Harry?” Simon stared at him, and he shrugged.

“Feel safer.” Harry mumbled, and Simon almost missed it. 

“Okay. Tescos?” Simon was passed the key by Harry, and they set off.

“I feel like there’s an apocalypse.” Harry said quietly. It was an apocalypse indeed. 

“Global pandemic, actually. I’ve been reading the past couple of days. My phone was in the fridge, if you’re wondering. No clue how it got there, and I can’t ask Lux without it being sus. He’s already at your place, Simon. Left a bunch of his shit here though.” Cal talked a mile a minute, and it was a welcoming distraction from the harsh reality they were in. 

“We should sell it.” Simon said, and by the rules of the game, the boys had to do it.

“Lux is going to kill us!” Cal cackled gleefully, and Simon decided to let Cal use the video idea. No point in him doing anything right now, not when he wasn’t himself. If he was lucky, he had some content left over from the past month he could upload this week. 

“Have you made a shopping list?” Simon opted for, and Harry remained silent, his head on the cool glass window.

“Nope. Every man for themselves, I say. We’re all gonna have to pay separately to get as many things as possible, ‘cos they got restrictions on how many items you can buy.” This world was weird, Simon had decided. This new stage of their lives where going outside was forbidden aside for emergency’s was going to put a real strain on the sidemen’s incomes. At least they had their main channels, he suppose’d. 

“Okay then, Cal. You’re not getting any of my food, you massive bitch.” Cal roared with laughter again, and Simon couldn’t help but laugh at Harry’s comment. 

Simon parked the car in the grocer’s parking lot, and locked Harry’s car. He went to throw the keys to Harry, but Harry wouldn’t meet his eyes. 

Simon felt oddly empty.


	7. home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is a short chapter my dudes

As the trio walked in Tesco, the mass amount of empty shelves was alarming, and Cal looked panicked.

“I didn’t know there would be no fucking pasta! Harry doesn’t know how to cook anything else!” Cal disappeared into an aisle, and it left Simon and Harry. 

Harry walked into the vegetable aisle, and Simon wasn’t going anywhere near those things. Simon followed Cal into the pasta aisle, and it was indeed empty.

“Oh my God! We’re gonna have to make pasta from scratch!” Cal howled while Simon laughed. Cal really was an idiot.

“They’re running low on cans, too.” The pair of them barrelled over and began throwing the various canned goods into their carts. 

It felt like it was the end of the world. 

They spent over two hours in Tesco’s, and by the end of it they had all spent over £200 on food. It had been an eventful two hours.

Harry hadn’t spoken to Simon once.

“McDonalds is closing down too, boys. What we saying to a double cheeseburger add bacon?” Cal asked eagerly, and both Harry and Simon laughed.

“As long as you’re paying.” Harry said, and Cal groaned.

“You have the most money, Harry. I’m going broke, I’m telling you!” Cal sighed for dramatic effect, and Simon pulled into the McDonalds drive thru.

“Hey, what can I get for you?” 

“Hello, could I please have-“ Cal decided that this was the perfect moment to mime having sex with a donkey, and Simon slammed reverse out of the drive thru.

“No McDonalds for you, Freezy.” All the boys laughed, and then they were heading home again. Freezy really could be an arse when he wanted to be. There was an abnormal amount of cars on the road today, maybe the Brits final act of defiance before going into lockdown. Wasn’t really a good one, since it could get someone killed. They decided to go home, and it was mildly embarrassing that Simon knew the route. No one seemed to pick up on his discomfort, least of all Harry, who’s head was turned to the window the whole time.

“Well, here we are.” Simon pulled into the driveway, the gate already open from Cal’s phone, and parked Harry’s car. 

“Home sweet home, boys. How quick do you reckon we’ll get sick of Simon, boggo?” The boys left the car and walked up to the house. Simon finally caught Harry’s eye.

“I already am.” Simon’s heart sunk. What the fuck had happened in between singing promises to each other and leaving the sidemen car? Cal roared with laughter again, oblivious to the breaking heart next to him.

“Lucky lockdown hasn’t started yet. I’ll go home, shall I?” Simon smiled weakly at Cal, who looped an arm in Simon’s as they sat their groceries on the bench.

“And break Harry’s heart? Over my dead body!” Cal unlooped their arms and began packing away his groceries.

“Something like that.” Harry said, and Simon was so fucking confused he could have cried right there and then. 

“I say we film a video fellas! What we saying to a cheeky among us stream?” Cal chatted as they unpacked the groceries, Simon albeit hesitantly.

“Sure. With who, though?” Harry asked, and Simon could almost pretend things were normal. Almost.

“Odds on corpse agreeing?” When Simon caught Harry’s eye, he knew that things would never be normal for the two of them again, regardless where they were in time.

“If we can get Sykkuno, Corpse will definitely join.” Simon entered the conversation, and Cal only smiled brightly.

“I’ll send him a message.” And Cal was off, flying up the stairs to the sanctuary of his room, leaving Simon and Harry in silence.

“Are you okay?” Simon asked softly, and yet again, it was a long time before Harry replied.

“I can’t help but think about what happened in the last two months. At some stage we got together, and less than two months later went public with it. That’s insane. It took me three years to go public with Kate.” Simon hadn’t really thought of it like that. 

“I think it was a year before Talia and I went public.” Simon pondered, and looking at the boy in front of him, he didn’t have to wonder why they went public so quickly. When you find someone like Harry, you don’t let them go. 

“Maybe we could ask the guys. In a subtle way though, like we’re quizzing them.” Harry had good ideas. Simon could give him that.

“Maybe.” Cal came thundering down the stairs as quickly as he had gone up them, and the shit-eating grin on his face said it all.

“We’re playing in ten. Start your streams now, and round people up!” Then Cal was flying up the stairs yet again, and that was that.

“You can use the setup in the spare room. I’ll tell you what, if you’re imposter go straight to comms and run in circles and I will too.” Harry had the cheeky little grin on his face that made Simon’s heart ache, and Simon was powerless to say no.

“Hurry up, Si!” The groceries were left abandoned, and the pair went up the stairs. Harry’s room was directly above the spare room, and the pair stopped on the stairs.

“Scared, Minter?” Harry asked with a daring grin, and Simon could only laugh.

“You wish, Lewis.” Simon pushed open the door of the spare room, and he wasted no time in starting up the monitors and computer. By the time he had started his stream, they had five minutes until they were scheduled to start. His phone pinged.

Baby bog: you’re going down

Simon laughed again. Maybe everything would be okay.

Stimpy: if i get imposter you’re dead boggie

Simon added his camera to the livestream, and he was pleased to see that he already had 70K viewers.

“Hey guys! To start off quarantine, we’re playing among us! We’ve actually got some sick people in the lobby, so I might not end up doing laps. Holy shit, Septiceye is playing!” Simon squealed like the fangirl that he was, and he joined the discord call.

“Hey guys.” Simon watched as his little dark blue astronaut ran circles around cyan. 

“Hello Simon.” Corpse’s voice really was something else.

“Hi!” Sykkuno’s voice was the exact opposite, and as Simon listened to the pair interacting, he couldn’t help but wonder if they knew that they were yin and yang.

“We’re just waiting on Lux and JJ.” Freezy said, and Simon knew the two bastards would be cheating. He watched as orange and yellow popped into the lobby.

“Ayo why am I yellow?” JJ was already screeching into his mic, and Simon laughed as Freezy hit start. 

Crewmate.

“Aw, that’s kinda boring. Should I just run laps? Wait, I need to go to comms to check if Haroldinho is the imposter.” Simon remembered, and blue ran down to comms, where cyan was running in circles.

“Imposters are losing this game! No way can Harry win. What’s a bet the other one is JJ.” Simon laughed, and he briefly checked his chat.

“Thanks for the three months, AnnaBanana.” He said, and began doing the download in electrical.

“Oh fuck, there’s JJ. Do it, you little bitch, you won’t.” Simon screamed when JJ proved he wasn’t a little bitch and killed him. Right as Corpse and Sykkuno ran in.

“So, JJ, mind telling me what you were doing over Simon’s body?” Corpse asked, and JJ scoffed.

“Nah man, I just ran in and it was here. Lux was in here earlier, it could be him.” JJ said, and Lux began yelling obscenities.

“I did see Lux in there earlier, you know.” Harry supported his fellow imposters alibi, and Simon watched as Lux was ejected. In all the mayhem, no one had noticed that Rae was dead. 

Simon decided to just follow Harry around, and held his breath as Harry approached Poke. Would Harry go for the kill? Instead, Harry left weapons in favour of running down and eventually coming to a stop in communications. Simon’s phone began buzzing, and he looked down to see Freezy calling him. 

“Is it fucking JJ?” He screamed, and Simon laughed.

“I can’t tell you, dumbass. But don’t go in a room alone with him.” Simon laughed again as he hung up mid Freezy’s screams, and discovered Harry had left comms. Before Simon could find him, a body was reported.

“It was a double!” Sean shouted, and the crossed out faces of Corpse and Sykkuno were seen.

“We need to vote, and I say we vote JJ because Corpse and Sykkuno accused him last round and now they’re dead.” Poke said, and there was a murmur of agreement from Sean, Freezy and Ethan.

“I dunno.” Harry said, and Ethan began shouting.

“It has to be Harry! He was chasing me earlier!” He said, and Harry sputtered in indignation. 

“I was scared, Behz!” Harry defended himself, and Poke hummed.

“I’m voting JJ, but sus on Sean and Harry.” She said, and before Simon knew it, JJ had been ejected. 

All the ghosts were following Harry, and it was kind of funny to watch. Simon watched Freezy die in the corner of upper engine, and Harry bolting away. 

“He needs two more kills, no way can he do it.” Simon said, and he laughed as he heard Cal yelling at Harry from upstairs. Simon had no clue what the kill cool down was, but all Harry needed was to find someone in a corner that no one went into. Maybe the corner of nav? 

Harry must have been reading his mind, because cyan shot across to nav where an unsuspecting Ethan was waiting. Vents really were an advantage, Simon mused as he watched Harry circling the centre table, likely waiting for someone to try and call an emergency. 

Later on, JJ would say that it was his sabotage that won Harry the game. With communications out, Harry joined Poke while the cool down fell. 

Defeat. 

“No way did he fucking do that!” Freezy screeched, and JJ’s cackling was the only thing Simon could hear over the rest of the voices.

“Nice job, Harry.” Sykkuno said, and Harry laughed nervously.

“Thanks, mate.” It was horrible, the trickle of envy that entered Simon’s bloodstream at that moment, even though he knew Corpse and Sykkuno were a thing. 

They played a few more uneventful games, and it wasn’t until Simon and Corpse got impostors did it get interesting.

“I’m not killing Harry, chat. Nice try. Hmm, who should I go for? Maybe just kill JJ to get my payback?” Simon pondered, and when the opportunity arose, he killed JJ and legged it out of weapons. 

“This is obviously my first time playing with Corpse and Sykkuno, but it’s been really fun. For some reason I didn’t expect them to be so cool, but they are. I’m definitely going to play more games in the future with them.” Simon said as he killed Ethan and vented. 

“Damn everyone I’ve seen I’ve killed. Where is everyone hiding?” Simon asked, and Sean’s body was reported. 3 dead. 

“This body was in, uh, the bottom one. With the computers in it. Communications!” Harry declared, very clearly looking at the map on another screen.

“See anyone?” Simon asked, and Harry sighed.

“No, I barely saw anyone all game.” He said, and literally everyone agreed.

“Where have you guys been hiding?” Sykkuno asked, and Freezy hummed.

“That sounds like something an imposter would say, y’know.” Sykkuno gasped.

“No, you guys! It’s not me!” Sykkuno said quickly, and everyone skipped. Can’t shoot on seven, after all. 

“Okay, we need three kills, which is kind of crazy. I’m tempted to kill Freezy again but I have a feeling Corpse will. I feel bad killing Poke, maybe I’ll take out Lux instead.” Simon passed Sykkuno on his quest to find Lux, and he ignored him. As he killed Lux, victory flashed on the screen.

“Of course you don’t kill your boyfriends.” Ethan shouted, and Corpse only laughed.

“I’d die a thousand deaths before I hurt him.” Corpse said, and Simon thought he knew exactly how the faceless man felt.

Home isn’t a place, maybe it never was. Maybe it was a person all along.


	8. never let me go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> haunted house time :)

After the streams had ended, Simon wandered tentatively back downstairs into the living room, where his new housemates greeted him. It was hard, as it always was, to look Harry in the eye when the younger boy was grinning at him like that, and Simon sat on the floor, on the other side of the coffee table.

“I shoulda known you two would team y’know.” Cal said, and Harry cackled evilly.

“You’re fuming just because you died first basically every round.” Cal whipped his head around to stare at the youngest boy.

“You dickhead! You killed me first basically every round.” Cal mimicked Harry and glared at him. To his credit, Harry did look sheepish. 

“It was too tempting.” He said, and Cal slapped the table amidst his laughter. Simon’s phone began ringing, and Simon shrugged at the boys before picking it up.

“Hi, Josh.” He said, and chucked it on speaker.

“Hey mate, you know that haunted house we booked and they cancelled on us? Well they just called me and said that if we can come in today then we can. It’s just past 2 now, and they close at 8, so I’m thinking of heading down and filming a couple videos. Is Harry with you?” Simon looked at Harry, who was currently smothering his face with a cushion.

“Yeah, he is. Are you on your way?” Simon stifled a laugh at Harry pretending to wipe tears from his eyes.

“About to leave. I’ve already messaged everyone else, JJ’s bringing Lux if you wanted to bring Freezy. Address is in group chat, try to get there as soon as possible!” Josh hung up before Simon could say another word, and Harry let out a screech.

“Fuck!” Freezy cackled and helped Simon up from the floor, while giving a well-aimed shove to Harry who fell back onto the couch.

“What do you reckon we’ll be filming?” Harry asked as he glared at Cal, and Simon shrugged.

“Since it’s a haunted house it’ll probably be hide n seek or among us.” He said, and Harry nodded. 

“Wait, my jumpers upstairs.” Harry shouted as Cal stood up to leave, and Simon laughed.

“We’ll wait for you in the car, bog. Who’s driving?” Simon shouldn’t have asked, since Harry chucked the keys at him before he finished his sentence.

“Yeah yeah, whatever.” Simon headed down into the garage with Cal, who again, faithfully sat in the backseat. 

“I don’t like haunted houses, ya know.” Cal said nervously, and Simon laughed.

“Can’t be that bad, Freezy! You can hold Lux’s hand.” Cal mimed throwing up, and Simon laughed again.

“Can I tell ya something?” Freezy asked tentatively, and Simon turned to face him in the backseat.

“Of course you can, Cal. I hope you know that.” The way Cal was looking at Simon was almost enough to strike fear into the older man’s heart.

“I was a hardcore minishaw shipper back in the day. Before we literally teleported in time.” Cal clarified at the end, and Simon rose his eyebrows. 

“Minishaw? As in Harry and I?” Cal nodded with a small smile.

“And since I know the both of you better than almost anyone else, I kind of figured it would happen eventually. I did wanna be there when it happened, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I have like dozens of fan edits shipping you two, and watching them makes everything make sense. You always had to be together, and in one of the older videos the sidemen went through a haunted house and you held hands the entire time. If I’m honest, I though you two were gonna announce your relationship after that.” Simon allowed a small smile to form on his lips, and he jumped when Harry opened the passenger door.

“Weren’t talking shit about me, were ya?” Harry was laughing, but he stopped laughing at the abrupt silence that had descended on the car. Simon started the car in silence, and it wasn’t until they were on the road did Harry speak again.

“Were ya?” He sounded more unsure, a shell of the persona he was online. Simon swallowed thickly.

“We were talking about you never clean up after yourself.” Cal took the reigns, and when the silence descended for a second time, no one interrupted it.

The drive wasn’t long, they arrived at the haunted house in no time. It looked like an abandoned warehouse from the outside, but the other sidemen standing outside of the building assured Simon they had arrived at the right address.

“Hurry up, you lot!” Ethan was already screaming bloody murder at them, and they reluctantly got out, waving at the various camera crew that had been available on such short notice.

“Okay, so we’re gonna film three videos, if that’s all good with everyone. We have a maximum of two hours on each video, but the first one which is just sidemen take on haunted house shouldn’t be more than 45 minutes, so we can play an extra hide n seek or among us game.” Josh summarised for them, and Simon couldn’t help but notice how tired Harry seemed in the natural light.

“Sounds good.” Freezy said, and Simon nodded in agreement. 

“Did you guys want to go in any particular order when we enter the house?” Josh asked, and everyone shrugged.

“Not first.” Vik said, and everyone agreed. Whoever entered first was fucked.

“I say we do 21 is in to see who goes first.” Simon offered, and God he hoped this didn’t backfire.

“That could sort the rest of the order out too. We can keep doing it until we have the order.” Tobi added, and another look at Harry’s face made Simon realise that if that boy lost 21 first, Simon would be going first instead. 

“21 is in sucked in bubblegum pigs bum stick it up a teachers bum.” Josh said, and JJ snickered. Lux did God’s work and whacked JJ in the shoulder with the hand that didn’t have two fingers in.

“We’re a brave bunch.” Harry said weakly, looking at how everyone except Lux had done one finger.

As luck would have it, JJ bowled out.

“Fuck!” He screamed, and everyone laughed, with Kon zooming in on JJ’s face.

They continued the game, with Freezy falling to his knees after having to go second, Josh grinning at third, Vik squealing like a pig at fourth, Lux wiping tears from his eyes at fifth, Harry grabbing Simon’s hand at sixth, Simon squeezing Harry’s hand at seventh, Tobi doing a cheeky prayer at eighth, and Ethan sticking the finger up at JJ at ninth. After every sideman and friend had been equipped with a go-pro attached to the helmet on their heads, they lined up in order. 

“There’s eight different doorways that we have to go through.” Josh explained, and he must have caught Harry’s white knuckles in Simon’s palm.

“Harry and Simon, you can go into a door together. Otherwise it’ll just be whichever order you’re in. JJ will be in the first door, Freezy in the second, etc.” JJ let out a scream that definitely resembled a pig. 

“Go on, JJ. Get in there.” Ethan shrieked when JJ took a step towards him, and Freezy patted JJ’s head reassuringly.

“I’m not a dog, fam, get away from me!” In an effort to get away from Freezy, JJ had opened the doors to the house. 

It was pitch black, not an ounce of light had entered the first room despite the door being wide open.

“What the fuck?” JJ turned to the other boys desperately, but everyone was scared as the next person. Lux grinned at a camera deviously as he pushed Vik forward, causing the sidemen to fall like dominos. As JJ fell into the room, the doors slammed behind him.

Everyone screamed.

Kon, the bravest soul there ever was, opened the doors to find JJ on the ground screaming. At the sight of Kon, he stopped screaming and slowly stood up.

“My bad, guys. I was just checking to see how my vocal range is.” JJ said, and Simon saw Tobi lean on Ethan amidst his laughter. 

The next 45 minutes were going to be hell, he could feel it.

With two helpers holding the doors open, the nine fools entered the house, as well as the cameramen that really weren’t being paid enough for this sort of shit.

Being at the back of the line really wasn’t too fun, Simon silently mused, as all he could hear were the sounds of JJ and Freezy trying to escape from the wonders of the house. Harry’s grip on his hand was deathly tight, and as they were waiting for the line to keep moving Simon turned Harry around to give him a hug. After all, they were supposed to be dating.

“It’ll be okay, Boggie. I’ll be right here with you.” Simon promised, and Harry clutched him back tighter than ever before hearing Lux.

“Good luck, boys.” Lux said, and he disappeared from behind doorway number five.

“I guess this is our stop.” Simon said, and without thinking he stepped in front of Harry.

“I’ll be your knight in shining armour.” Simon grinned cockily at the younger boy before something yanked him into the room.

“What the fuck!” He screamed, and Harry dove right in after him.

“Don’t touch him, prick!” This room was as pitch black as the first one had been, and there was a blind wrestle full of screams before Simon felt something slimy touching him.

“Harry?” He shouted, and the silence he was met with made his heart fucking break. Harry was terrified of this place, why the fuck didn’t Simon prevent him from entering?

“Simon!” Harry’s scream sounded so far away, but Simon was still being held by something.

“Please let me find him, please. He’s terrified of this place, and I promised I would take care of him. You’d do the same for someone you loved, right?” Whatever was holding Simon hostage silently moved him, and Harry’s screams of agony were scaring the shit out of Simon.

“He’s straight ahead, but watch out. There’s a mad doctor holding him back. If you just run forward the doctor should let him go and you’ll be able to reach him.” A distorted voice shoved Simon forward, and before the man could think he was sprinting straight forward. It wasn’t two seconds later that he ran straight into someone and they tumbled to the floor together. Harry’s scream made him laugh.

“I’ve gotcha boggie!” Simon announced, and Harry wrapped his arms around the lanky boy in a flash, holding him as though he would never let go.

If Harry had a choice, he never would.


End file.
